Crete, Neb. – On Wednesday, February 25, the Swedes travelled to play a chilly set of duals at Doane University. The Swedes started the day off with opposite results in doubles, which trickled down through the rest of the day.
On the Men’s side, the men picked up convincing 6-0 wins at #1 (Sebastian Stipanov, Jr & Gustavo Cardoso, Fr) and #3 (Fran Bravo, So & Santiago Stipanov, Fr), with a tie-break loss at #2 (Diego Bsereni, Jr & Dylan Gwilt, So; 2-7 tiebreak score). The women’s result was flipped, with 6-0 losses at #1 (Sofia Castillo Paz, Sr & Helen Harbit, Jr) and #2 (Makenna Russom, Sr & Elise Richardson, Fr). The Swedes picked up a good 6-4 win at #3 (Karee Adam, Sr & Elena Jundt, Fr) to finish doubles.
In singles, the women’s team continued their tough day with a straight set loss at #1 (S. Castillo Paz) to the fourteenth-ranked individual player in the nation and another straight set loss at #2 (M. Russom). Harbit at #3 and Adam at #5 both fought through three sets, eventually dropping those matches as well. The Swedes two wins on the day came from the freshmen at #4 (Richardson) and #6 (Jundt). Final score for the women was 2-5 in favor of the hosts.
The men’s results were a mirror of the women, picking up three-set wins at #1 Bravo) and #2 (Seb. Stipanov). The Swedes picked up two more straight set wins at #3 and #4 (Cardoso and Bsereni). The #5 (Gwilt) match went to three sets, eventually giving the hosts their first point of the day. #6 (Pedro Melo, So) was a straight set loss, making the final score 5-2 in favor of the Swedes.
“I’m overall pretty happy with how today’s matches went. We tinkered with doubles pairings a little today, and I thought as a whole we adjusted well,” said Coach DeWitt. “Obviously the top of the women’s lineup has a tall task when we visit Doane, but I thought all of our players showed up and played hard. We need to continue consistently playing at a level we want to, but that’s starting to happen more often. Some of our students are starting to show the resilience we need in tough matches, and I thought we showed that more today.”
Women:
Doubles
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S. Castillo Paz/H. Harbit 0-6
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M. Russom/E. Richardson 0-6
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K. Adam/E. Jundt 6-4
Singles
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S. Castillo Paz 1-6, 0-6
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M. Russom 0-6, 2-6
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H. Harbit 6-4, 2-6, 3-10
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E. Richardson 7-5, 7-5
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K. Adam 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-10
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E. Jundt 6-3, 1-6, 10-5
Men:
Doubles
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Seb. Stipanov/G. Cardoso 6-0
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D. Bsereni/D. Gwilt 6-7(2)
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F. Bravo/San. Stipanov 6-0
Singles
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F. Bravo 7-6(4), 2-6, 11-9
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Seb. Stipanov 4-6, 6-2, 10-3
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G. Cardoso 6-1, 6-3
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D. Bsereni 6-0, 6-1
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D. Gwilt 6-4, 0-6, 5-10
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P. Melo 4-6, 2-6
Up Next…
The Swedes travel to Lawrence on Saturday (2/28) to play a non-conference match against Baker, before opening the KCAC schedule on March 3 vs Tabor, weather permitting.
